Ltr5-12: Title III, LEP (CA Dept of Education)

November 15, 2013

Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

NOTICE OF THE FIFTH APPORTIONMENT FOR TITLE III,
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT, AND
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT STUDENTS
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT OF 2001
FISCAL YEAR 2012–13

This apportionment, in the amount of $20,259,635, is made from federal funds provided to the state under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), in support of grants awarded to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) for supplementary programs and services to Limited English Proficient (LEP) students. This apportionment provides payments to LEAs that reported their cash balance in October 2013 via the Cash Management Data Collection (CMDC) system, reported English Learner counts in the March 2011 R-30 Language Census Report, applied for the program on the 2012–13 Consolidated Application Reporting System and have an approved LEA plan.

The CMDC was implemented by the California Department of Education (CDE) for Title III, LEP in order to adhere to the cash management requirements established in federal statute and regulations, and reduce the time elapsing between the receipt and disbursement of federal funds. More detailed information about the CMDC is posted at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/cm/.

The amount paid to an LEA in this apportionment depends on whether it had amounts unpaid from its 2011–12 Title III, LEP entitlement as of the October 2013 cash reporting period, and whether the unpaid balance was greater or less than the amount owed. If an LEA had no unpaid 2011–12 entitlement, its payment in this apportionment is equal to 25 percent of its 2012–13 entitlement for Title III, LEP minus its reported cash balance for Title III, LEP, with a maximum payment equal to the unpaid balance of its 2012–13 entitlement. If an LEA had an unpaid 2011–12 entitlement, the amount owed is equal to 25 percent of its 2011–12 entitlement for Title III, LEP minus its reported cash balance. That amount owed up to the amount of the unpaid 2011–12 entitlement is being paid in a separate apportionment from 2011–12 funds. Any remaining amount owed after the 2011–12 payment is being paid in this apportionment from 2012–13 funds, with a maximum payment equal to the unpaid balance of the 2012–13 entitlement. Each LEA’s 2012–13 entitlement is equal to the number of English Learner students reported on the March 2011 R-30 Language Census Report, multiplied by a rate of $105.69.

Direct-funded charter schools must apply individually for this program. The amount of funding for a direct-funded charter school is identified separate from the district or county amount. All other charter schools must apply through their authorizing agency; associated funding for these charter schools is included in the district or county amount.

The United States Department of Education (ED) grant award number for this funding is S365A120005. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance subprogram number is 84.365A (English Language Acquisition Grants). This grant award is subject to the provisions of Title III, Part A, of the ESEA, as applicable, and the General Education Provisions Act. This grant is also subject to the regulations in Part 299 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the federal Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 76, 77, 80, 81, 82, 85, and 86.

The funding is appropriated in Schedule (2) of Item 6110-125-0890 of the Budget Act of 2012 (Chapter 21, Statutes of 2012). The California sub-allocation (pass-through) number is Program Cost Account (PCA) 14346.

Under the federal Tydings Amendment, Section 421(B) of the General Education Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. 1225(b), any funds that are not obligated at the end of the federal funding period, July 1, 2012, through September 30, 2013, shall remain available for obligation for an additional period of 12 months, through September 30, 2014.

Title 34 of CFR, Section 80.21(i), also requires that any interest earned by LEAs on federal dollars be returned to the ED at least quarterly. LEAs may keep interest amounts up to $100 per year for administrative expenses. LEAs should forward interest payments for remittance to the ED to:

To ensure proper posting of payments, please include the program’s PCA number (PCA 14346) and identify the payment as “Federal Interest Returned.”

Warrants will be mailed to each county treasurer approximately three weeks from the date of this Notice. For standardized account code structure coding, use Resource Code 4203, NCLB: Title III, LEP Student Program, and Revenue Object Code 8290, All Other Federal Revenue.

The county superintendents of schools were notified of this apportionment by e-mail which was sent to their CDEfisc e-mail addresses. The CDE requested that the e-mail be forwarded to all school districts and charter schools in the county, and included the links to this letter and the apportionment schedules which are posted on the CDE Web pages at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/.

If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact Patty Stevens, Associate Governmental Program Analyst, Language Policy and Leadership Office, by phone at 916-323-5838 or by e-mail at pstevens@cde.ca.gov. If you have any questions regarding this apportionment or the payment process, please contact Karen Almquist, Fiscal Consultant, Categorical Allocations and Management Assistance Unit, by phone at 916-327-4406 or by e‑mail at kalmquis@cde.ca.gov.